Jefferson Healthcare in Port Townsend is addressing rural healthcare workforce shortages by building a local talent pipeline through career connected learning. By partnering with local schools and colleges, they’ve developed a three-phase pathway that introduces students to healthcare careers as early as 8th grade and supports them through training, post-high school credentialing, and direct employment.
REPORT: Washington’s advanced computing and technology sector is growing fast—already making up 21.8% of the state’s GDP, the highest in the country. Over the next decade, demand for software developers, computer support specialists, and systems analysts will surge, with 128,000 job openings expected by 2032. Despite this demand, there’s a critical skills gap: 84% of these jobs require a bachelor’s degree or higher, and the state is on track to produce 35,000 fewer qualified workers than needed.
REPORT: Recent postsecondary enrollment trends reveal the challenge of meeting projected demand for workers with degrees, apprenticeships, and high-value industry certifications. After years of stagnation, enrollment at Washington’s colleges and universities plummeted during the pandemic. Community and technical colleges (CTCs) lost over 53,000 students—a 24% decline—from fall 2019 and fall 2022, while public baccalaureate institutions lost 10,000 resident undergraduates (an 11% drop).
REPORT: Washington Roundtable, Partnership for Learning, and Kinetic West released a new report, Skill Up for Our Future, taking a deep dive into what Washington’s economy will look like through 2032 and where the opportunities and challenges lie for our workforce.
Spotlight: Fred Hutch’s LabLaunch program is redefining career preparation in the life sciences. This partnership between Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Washington Alliance for Better Schools, and Shoreline Community College equips students with the skills needed for high-demand lab technician roles. The program combines hands-on lab experience with academic training, ensuring students are job-ready and offering them a guaranteed interview at Fred Hutch upon program completion.
We are excited to take a leadership role with the Career Connect Washington initiative (CCW), working alongside partners from Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC), Washington STEM, and the Employment Security Department. As part of this new public-private leadership group, we are committed to supporting education-to-career pathways that equip today’s students to succeed in tomorrow’s workforce.
In 2013, the Chehalis School District and the Chehalis Foundation partnered to launch the Chehalis Student Achievement Initiative (SAI), an effort focused on improving student achievement, modernizing instructional practices, and preparing students for college and careers. The depth of community engagement and partnership has driven impressive gains over the initiative’s 10-year history.
Learn more about what makes the district stand out in our new case study, which is part of our Credential is Essential series.
After three years of steep declines, postsecondary enrollment in Washington is showing signs of recovery. According to data shared with Washington Roundtable by the state’s public postsecondary institutions, 51,000+ fewer students enrolled in our public institutions in fall 2023 than in fall 2019 – representing a 17% enrollment decline since the pandemic’s onset. This comes when postsecondary education is increasingly the only pathway to middle-class jobs.
In 2016, the Washington Roundtable set a goal: 70% of Washington students—overall and within each racial and ethnic community—will complete a postsecondary credential by age 26. This goal reflects the workforce needs of Washington employers and national and state data projecting that at least 70% of jobs in our state will be filled by workers who complete a postsecondary credential, such as a degree, apprenticeship, or industry-aligned certificate or license.
New data analysis indicates that nearly a third of the progress made toward the goal since the class of 2006 was wiped out during the pandemic. The estimated credential attainment rate for the high school class of 2021 is 40%—three percentage points lower than the class of 2019 and 30 points below the goal.
Energy Pathways is a four-week paid summer immersion opportunity developed by Spokane-area utility company Avista to introduce incoming high school juniors and seniors to the energy industry.
For Katelyn Bartel, now a student at Eastern Washington University, the internship was life changing.
“This really opened my eyes into what I could be doing with my life. It makes me more motivated when I go to school because I know that there’s something that I’m working towards. It gives me more of a goal.”
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